A Killer Plan
by Catherine Daniels
Summary: Knowing the truth about your friends could prove deadly. Sydney's new friend has a deadly secret that may affect her and those she loves. Written by Danielle not Caty Jean.
1. The Beginning

Summary: Knowing the truth about your friends could prove deadly. Sydney's new friend has a deadly secret that may affect her and those she loves. Written by Danielle not Caty Jean.

"A Killer Plan"

PG-13

Drama

Knowing the truth about your friends could prove deadly. Sydney's new friend has a deadly secret that may affect her and those she loves.

Chapter 1: The Beginning

LOS ANGELES

"Her name is Margaret Kessler. She has worked with the government for three year. She has created many useful weapons, video, and sound devices. Marshall, I trust you will make her quite comfortable."

"Yes sir, Mr. Sloane, sir."

Sydney sat across the table from Vaughn who smiled gently as Sloane briefed everyone on the new addition to APO would be receiving that afternoon. She was their new tech girl and would be working along side Marshall in the lab. Sydney was glad to have another girl around the office and couldn't wait for her arrival. Marshall was also quite excited. Having someone to help him would help relieve stress and make work easier. Vaughn and Weiss couldn't wait to see another pretty face walk down the hall. Nadia and Jack tried not to show their enthusiasm as well. Sloane was the only one who really showed no emotion at all about the situation.

As the meeting broke up, Vaughn caught both Sydney and Weiss, "What do you think about this new gal?"

Weiss seemed to be staring out into space as Sydney shrugged, but answered completely seriously, "So far, I like what I see."

Both Vaughn and Sydney turned around slowly to see a young woman walking towards them. She wore a black pants suit with a red under shirt. Her long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail away from her pale skin and she wore sophisticated thick-rimmed glasses. She walked confidently to the three and smiled friendly. "Hello. My name is Margaret Kessler. You can call me Maggie."

"Sydney Bristow."

"Michael Vaughn"

"Eric Weiss, but you can call me anytime." As soon as the words left his mouth, he knew it was a mistake.

"Alright, anytime, nice to meet you. Agent Bristow, I am so glad I was able to meet you. I've heard so much about you."

"Well thank you. Please, call me Sydney."

"Sydney, do you know where I can find Mr. Sloane? I'm supposed to meet with him when I arrive." Sydney smiled, nodded, and led Maggie towards Sloane's office. The guys watched them leave, as men usually do, but were called away by Jack before the drool began.

"What do you think of Agent Kessler?" Jack asked after he closed the door to his office.

"She's hot," Weiss stated. Both Vaughn and Jack just stared at him.

"She seems very intelligent and very capable. She is also a little star-struck with Sydney." Vaughn said.

"I just worry. I've never heard of an Agent Kessler with the U.S. Government, no one has. There was one about twenty years ago, but _he_ died while in the field. He was also a spy for the KGB."

"So? What does that have to do with Maggie Kessler?" Vaughn asked with doubt in his voice.

"I'm hoping nothing." Jack replied.

Meanwhile, Sydney escorted Maggie to Sloane's office. He welcomed them with open arms. Sydney was apprehensive, but Maggie smiled and gave him a hug. "Hello Arvin, how are you?"

"Margaret, it is so nice to see you again. I'm doing fine, you?"

"Oh, I'm wonderful, a little jetlagged, but fine."

Sydney just watched the interaction between the two. She was slightly confused, but was glad Maggie had arrived and that she was so warmly received. After a short welcome, Sloane asked Sydney to escort Maggie to the lab to meet Marshall and to settle in.

On their way, Sydney introduced Maggie to Jack, Nadia, and Dixon, who had just arrived. They greeted her warmly, all except Jack. He still didn't trust her. Everyone else seemed to love her humor and free spirited manner. She seemed comfortable in her skin and was not worried about the task ahead of her.

As they entered the lab, Sydney began to feel her father's same concern. Maggie seemed to know where everything was and had no problem finding her way around. It seemed as if she had been there before. She and Marshall hit it off right away. She settled in at her desk and Sydney left the two geniuses to get to know each other.

As she made her way back to her desk, Sydney was confronted by her father. "How do you like Agent Kessler?"

"Maggie? She's wonderful, a little different, but I think she'll fit in just fine."


	2. First Plans

Summary: Knowing the truth about your friends could prove deadly. Sydney's new friend has a deadly secret that may affect her and those she loves.

"A Killer Plan"

PG-13

Drama

Words in are translations for the foreign languages used.

Chapter 2: First Plans

LOS ANGELES

"...so, he replaced the transmitter I placed on her with a passive transmitter. It was actually quite brilliant."

"Yes, well, Jack is a brilliant man. Marshall, what can you tell me about Sydney and Vaughn?"

"Oh-well-um-well, Vaughn was Sydney's handler when she worked for the CIA as a double agent to take down SD-6. Then they dated for like a year or so. Then when Sydney disappeared, Vaughn married Lauren. He killed her after he found out she was a double agent. Now they're together again. You know-well maybe you don't, but-well anyway-they're very close now."

"I could tell." Maggie went back to work while Marshall started babbling again. She heard the familiar ring of her cell phone and excused herself to answer it. "Hello."

A male voice came form the other end, "Is everything in order?"

" Sarà fatto, non preoccupa," Maggie answered him and hung up the phone. It will be done, don't worry.

"You speak Italian?"

Maggie turned to see Jack standing behind her. "Do you always listen in on other people's phone calls?"

"Not always, answer my question."

"Yes, I speak Italian. My grandmother is not very good with English. She prefers Italian." She answered him quickly and returned to the lab. Marshall began talking to her again and she just smiled and nodded. She concentrated on her project, but was worried about the phone call she received. It meant that she was being checked up on, something she hoped wouldn't happen.

"Marshall, Margaret, meeting in fifteen minutes." They both nodded at Sloane and began getting things together.

The group sat around the table in the boardroom. Sloane sat at the head of the table with Maggie on his left and Jack on his right. Marshall sat next to Maggie with Weiss on the other side of him. Nadia sat next to Weiss with Vaughn, Sydney, and Dixon filling out the rest of the table.

After everyone was formally introduced, Sloane began briefing the group on their newest mission. "His name is Brian Fratzenburg. He is not a native Italian, but he has lived in Venice for the past twelve years and knows the culture well. He has in his possession something that could change life as we know it."

"What is it?" Sydney asked.

"The box of Romanofski." Sloane stated calmly. Maggie looked up from the table at him in shock.

"I'm sorry Arvin, but why are we looking for the box of Romanofski? It's said to be a fairy tale."

"Well, Margaret, everyone, the box is real, and it contains the instructions for creating a bio-terrorism weapon that could destroy the entire western hemisphere. Sydney, you and Vaughn will be going in as Julia and Robert Spencer. Marshall?"

"Ah-yes-hello. First we have here this lovely emerald necklace," he began by showing off the piece of jewelry. "Of course-well-uh-the emeralds aren't real. It has video feed so that we can see what all happened. Well-since-well-it isn't live video feed-we didn't have enough time. So-um-anyway-we also have here a very nice cell phone that you would-" Marshall lifted the phone to his ear like he was using it to call someone. "'Hello, where are-' Anyway-it is a lock descrambler."

Maggie broke in so that the explanation would be a little briefer. "The box is said to be in locked safe behind an original DaVinci painting in the library. The safe's lock includes a combination lock as well as fingerprint analysis. You have to get Fratzenburg to take you into the library. We also have cufflinks for you Vaughn. They contain a substance that will render Fratzenburg unconscious, but only for about five minutes. That means, at most, you have ten minutes. The lock descrambler takes almost two minutes, so, you may need to use both."

"Thank you both. The plane leaves in two hours," Sloane said first addressing Maggie and Marshall and then Sydney and Vaughn.

"Sloane-" Jack interrupted, "I think that Agent Kessler should be involved in this mission. She is fluent in Italian and could be a great asset. She also seems to know the story behind the box."

"Well," Sloane started calmly, "I don't believe that Margaret is quite ready to work in the field."

"Jack, I appreciate the fact that you think I am capable to work in the field, but I think that I'm going to need a little more time before I go out. I'm sure both Sydney and Vaughn can handle it without me. They are both fluent in Italian." Maggie addressed Jack as the group watched on.

Jack's reaction was quite calm, a slow nod followed by him simply leaving the room. Sloane dismissed the others, but asked Maggie to stick around. "Is everything alright dear?"

"Everything is fine, Arvin."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Arvin. You really don't have to worry about me. Nothing can go wrong now. I'm beginning to fit in and no one seems to suspect anything."

"Let's keep it that way." Sloane left the room and Maggie soon followed him carrying a pile of papers.

I had to switch this story from DanceDiva to here so all of my two reviews got erased. Thanks to both of you who reviewed anyho.


	3. The Box

"A Killer Plan"

PG-13

Drama

Knowing the truth about your friends could prove deadly. Sydney's new friend has a deadly secret that may affect her and those she loves.

Words in italics are translations for the foreign languages used.

Chapter 3: The box of Romanofski

VENICE

Sydney and Vaughn entered the large home of Brian Fratzenburg simply yet cautiously. Sydney wore a long black strapless dress that fit her slender frame perfectly. It was accented by Marshall's necklace and matching earrings. Her diamond ring and wedding band confirmed that she and "Mr. Spencer" were in fact married. Vaughn's black tux was paired with his custom-made cufflinks and his own wedding band.

"Syd," he whispered into her ear, "I love you."

"Sydney's eyes shot wide open in shock and they slowly closed in happiness. She smiled gently, touched his cheek, and whispered back, "I love you too."

They mingled with the other party guests and scoured the room for Fratzenburg. At one point, Vaughn laced his hand with hers and squeezed it gently. She looked over at him and grinned happily. He happiness soon diminished when she saw Fratzenburg across the room.

"Sweetheart," Sydney said getting into character, "maybe we should go introduce ourselves to Mr. Fratzenburg. We wouldn't want to be rude."

Vaughn looked confused until he noticed Fratzenburg and agreed to put their plan into motion. The approached another partygoer and he took over. "Ciao, sono Robert Spencer. Cerco il signore Fratzenburg." _Hello, my name is Robert Spencer._ I'm looking for Mr. Fratzenburg. The man pointed towards him and Vaughn thanked him. "Ringraziarla." _Thank you._

They made their way across the room calmly. "Ciao Signore Fratzenburg, sono Julia Spencer." Sydney addressed him as she smiled sweetly. He smiled back and Syd continued to charm him until she believed they were "in" with him. They knew that no one ever got to view Fratzenburg's art collection unless they were close, personal friends. Syd casually brought up precious art and he mentioned his prized Da Vinci painting in his library. "Dove la biblioteca è?" _Where is the library?_ Fratzenburg led her and Vaughn to the dimly lit room. Sydney quickly noticed the painting above the fireplace, "Dipingere bello." _Lovely painting._

"Sì è. È olato dipinto da Da Vinci." _Yes it is. It was painted by Da Vinci._

With that response, Vaughn took the initiative to knock Fratzenburg unconscious with one of his cufflinks. Sydney made her way to the painting and slid it to reveal the safe. She used the descrambler and waited impatiently for decode the combination. Meanwhile, Vaughn moved Fratzenburg to the painting for fingerprint analysis. "Why we couldn't just make a copy of his fingerprint; I don't know," Vaughn said struggling. Sydney laughed and helped him put Fratzenburg in place. The descrambler beeped, signaling it was done. Sydney pressed Fratzenburg's right index finger in place and the safe unlocked.

"I'm giving him the second dose. We only have five minutes."

"Okay, I have the box." Sydney lifted the small square box from the safe and shut the door. She slid the painting back into place and helped Vaughn position Fratzenburg in a chair. They left the library and exited the building to a waiting car that would take them to the plane.

As Vaughn drove, Sydney peered down at the box. It was a deep cherry color and was intricately carved. It was no larger than a videocassette, but seemed so important. She then found herself looking down at the wedding band that graced her finger. She smiled and sighed gently. Vaughn looked over at her and grinned. As he looked back towards the road, he placed his hand on hers to comfort her.

LOS ANGELES

"You're trip was a success," Sloane said addressing Sydney and Vaughn. "There is only one problem with the box, Margaret?"

"Yes, well," Maggie began, standing to address the group as a whole, "the box seems to be intact. It also seems to be the real thing."

"What do you mean 'seems'?" Vaughn asked.

"Well," Maggie continued, "we can't open it. Not without the key. We do know who is supposed to have it, however. A Sr. Alonzo Fernandez. The only problem with that is we need his private address. There is only one place we could find it, Madrid."

"Madrid? Who has it?" Sydney asked.

"Well, we were thinking that the Bank of Madrid would have his name on record since his business is run from there. There is a possibility that his address is in the computer, however, you may have to break into his safety deposit box to get it."

"Sydney, Vaughn and Dixon will go to Madrid to retrieve the address. After that, we will send a team to that location to retrieve the key. Marshall and Margaret will brief you on the details of the trip in the lab, I have a very important phone call to make."

With that, Sloane dismissed the group and departed to his office. Maggie, Marshall, Sydney, Vaughn, and Dixon made their way to the lab where Marshall stumbled over instructions while Maggie showed the team the gadgets they would be using.

Maggie informed Sydney that they would have radio link between the two of them at all time during the mission. Sydney seemed pleased, but the ringing of Maggie's cell phone interrupted the two. She excused herself and made her way out back before answering it.

**_TBC..._**

_Okay, a little longer this time. Now, review. Please. My ego needs a little bit of a boost and a good review will do that for me. School's almost out so that means there will be more chapters, faster, I promise._

**Here's a quick glimpse into next chapter: Ground Rules...**

"Mr. Sloane," a woman with a deep Russian accent whispered into the receiver, "There are going to have to be some ground rules if we are going to continue working together."

"But of course miss-"

"That is the first rule. Never say my name when there is a chance someone could hear."

"Yes, I will try to be more cautious."

"Now, I only have three rules; one, you know, the others are; never contact me, I will contact you, and, do not tell me how to do business. Are we clear?"

"Of course."

"Do you have any questions for me, Mr. Sloane?"

"Just one, how will you do it?"

"I never kill and tell, Mr. Sloane. The one thing I have never shared with anyone is how I kill my targets. Besides, it usually comes to me in the moment."


	4. Ground Rules

**"A Killer Plan"**

**PG-13**

**Drama**

**Knowing the truth about your friends could prove deadly. Sydney's new friend has a deadly secret that may affect her and those she loves.**

**Words in _italics_ are translations for the foreign languages used.**

**Chapter 4: Ground Rules**

LOS ANGELES

"Mr. Sloane," a woman with a deep Russian accent whispered into the receiver, "There are going to have to be some ground rules if we are going to continue working together."

"But of course miss-"

"That is the first rule. Never say my name when there is a chance someone could hear."

"Yes, I will try to be more cautious."

"Now, I only have three rules; one, you know, the others are; never contact me, I will contact you, and, do not tell me how to do business. Are we clear?"

"Of course."

"Do you have any questions for me, Mr. Sloane?"

"Just one, how will you do it?"

"I never kill and tell, Mr. Sloane. The one thing I have never shared with anyone is how I kill my targets. Besides, it usually comes to me in the moment."

"And when will that be exactly?"

"Mr. Sloane, Agent Bristow is well trained. I have to gain everyone's trust first, and then I can do the deed. There is one thing, however, the matter of payment."

**Meanwhile:**

Sydney looked lovingly across the table at Vaughn. Just as he was about to reach over and take her hand in his, the waiter arrived with their meal. Vaughn's hand snapped back across the table into his lap and Sydney couldn't help but laugh at his antics.

"Vaughn," she said tenderly when the waiter left, "You seem nervous tonight. What's wrong?"

"Nothing is wrong Syd." He answered quickly as if he didn't want her to press any further.

"It's as if we are on a mission that I don't know about and you are hearing sweet nothings in your ear from someone back at headquarters."

"Well the only one that would be there that I would like to hear sweet nothings from would be Weiss." He paused to look up at her slightly confused and disturbed expression. "That sounded bad, didn't it?"

"That it did. I would had been a lot less disturbed if you had said the same about my sister, but I suppose that would be odd as well."

"Well, let's just put it to rest that there are no sweet nothings, or any other kind of nothings being spoken to me tonight, unless they come from you. And, there is nothing going on that you should be worrying about. Everything is absolutely normal tonight." He smiled at her reassuringly before looking down at his meal. Sydney couldn't help but feel slightly unnerved, however, she trusted Vaughn and simply went on with her meal.

When they were finished, Vaughn asked the waiter to bring them the best dessert they had and Sydney waited anxiously for what was coming next. She had dreamed of this day since they had made plans to go to Santa Barbara over three years before. She was smiling brightly when the waiter placed the chocolate box shaped creation in front of her. She opened it carefully and stared at what lay before her eyes.

"Now, Mr. Sloane," The Russian woman continued, "we have a deal that when Bristow is dead I will have one of my people contact you and you will give me my five million dollars. Is that correct?"

"Yes, of course. Why? Is there something wrong with that arrangement?"

"Well," she continued after a short pause, "I want partial payment now, just in case."

"How much do you want?"

"Half."

"Half? Fine, how will it be transferred?"

"You could always bring it directly to me."

"I can't do that. I will have an unmarked car parked in the parking lot outside APO at nine o'clock tonight. You can come and get it then. Come alone and unarmed."

The Russian woman didn't respond immediately, but when she did, she said, "Alone, yes. Unarmed, no. I never travel unarmed. I will be there Mr. Sloane, nine o'clock tonight." She hung up the phone before he was able to respond. Sloane hung up the receiver and made his way to the door of his office. He opened the door to find Maggie and Nadia talking.

"Good evening ladies. What are you still doing here?"

"A little too dedicated dad," Nadia responded.

"Go home, both of you. I can see Vaughn and Sydney have already left for the day."

"They went out to dinner as soon as I was done showing Sydney the tech for tomorrow's mission. It took a little longer than expected though."

"Why is that Maggie?" Sloane asked.

"I got a phone call from a friend of mine. She wanted to know if everything was going to plan here. She just wants to make sure that I get everything while I'm here. You know, before I have to leave."

"Leave?" Nadia asked shocked.

"Yes, I'm going to work for the CIA branch in Washington DC after I'm finished training here. I really wasn't supposed to say anything, but I feel I can trust both of you." Maggie smiled and Nadia and Sloane smiled back. They all departed the office for the subway entrance. Maggie looked at Sloane out of the corner of her eye, but made sure he wouldn't notice. She was trying to be as careful as possible to keep them both from knowing exactly what she was there for, at least until it was time for everyone to know, including Sydney.

_DONE! Still doing my short chapters, but I promise I will try to make them longer. Please review. I want to know what all of you think. Without knowing that people are in fact reading this, I would be very sad and I would have no reason to continue. I want to keep this going so please let me know what you think. ¡Gracias!_


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